Customer Service 101

In Part 1, we discussed some basic ideas about your presentation and appearance, and how to handle the calls and also to respond to Emails, and specific advice on proper follow up. Congratulations, you got the Gig! Part 2 of this 2 part installment in DJU discusses the philosophy that underpins good customer service and will allow you to distinguish yourself from your brethren who do NOT care, and only want the money. We are going to Wax philosophic here, but it is important to lay the right groundwork for the SPECIFIC discussions that follow.
As important as it is to land the sale, once you have the show booked, your customer service excellence truly has JUST started! It isn’t over till it’s over as the saying goes. (Paul) It is even more crucial to deliver good customer service now that you HAVE that customer. Once the sale is made, it is important to continue to provide good customer service – a lot of DJs work hard to get the gig, and then drop the ball after they get the deposit. We can’t emphasize enough how many calls we get from people who say that they can’t get in touch with their DJ to finalize the planning. The DJ was quick to return calls in order to get the reservation, but would not do the follow up calling to start the next phase of the show, THE PLANNING! We believe that if this one single aspect of our industry was changed, or didn’t exist, our profession would be viewed in a more professional perspective, and make the task of getting a livable wage much less of an issue.(Paul) Now many DJs simply don’t feel that “it is their job” to provide good pre-event planning services. This seems to be a prevalent problem everywhere in the United States. This is probably THE most important point that we want to hammer home: You shouldn’t consider yourself to be “just a DJ who plays music”. Visualize yourself as a legitimate business manager, and provide your customers with the necessary support BEFORE the gig. We both know several DJs in our areas who are very good performers, but create ill will with their clients prior to the event. They weren’t interested in spending the time to plan and organize their client’s event. Once the client gets angry with you – especially during that stressful time just prior to a show – providing an outstanding performance may not overcome the negative feelings the client has for you because the DJ wouldn’t work with them to plan and organize the event. This also spills over in future bookings, because once we discover a DJ isn’t providing the service we think that they should, we stop referring shows to them.

Pre-event planning is a two way street. It is important to LISTEN to what the client wants. It is equally important to have a tactful approach to offering suggestions and advice that may be different from what the client THINKS they want. We always tell the client at the beginning of the consultation that while we may use our experience to offer suggestions, we understand that the client may not agree with those suggestions – and that’s ok with us (in most cases). Most clients appreciate that you are willing to provide advice to them on how to best organize and manage their event. If you are knowledgeable, and have the ability to present your suggestions in a tactful manner, the client will perceive you as “the expert”, believing that you are not only an outstanding performer, but an outstanding event planner. This is almost certain to generate a higher percentage of referrals, compared to the same DJ who was only an outstanding performer.

The Planning Piece:

Once you have a signed contract and retainer in hand, your next step is to schedule a mutually convenient time to meet and plan your event out. (Bill) I again prefer to meet customers in their home, as they are more at ease and comfortable. Do whatever is best for your client. Let them decide that. Bring over your play list and planner for the event, a representation of your CD collection, and sit down and review all of the time lines and plan out the event. You should bring the contract as well, since many customers may inquire about the balance due and when to pay that. Your goal coming out of the meeting is to have a DRAFT of your planner for the event, complete with musical selections and a timeline.

When you come into a clients home again for that meeting, all of the same principles and advice in Part 1 STILL apply. Don’t let your guard down or present less than a professional image on your 2nd visit. Maintain a concerned and passionate, but friendly attitude. As you go through the process of planning the event, remember these key factors:

It is important to take DETAILED NOTES when dealing with clients, so you remember exactly what the client wants, with no room for errors or misinterpretations of your notes several months later. Be sure that you note any special songs or dedications on your planner. (Bill) This takes time if you write it all down, but I find that customers do like the fact that I HAVE written it all down. It makes any follow up phone calling a lot easier if you just pick up a file that has all of their information at a glance.

(Paul)Again for weddings – you should know precisely what reception formalities they want, and what sequence they are to follow. You should also have a good idea on the type of music the client wants, and does not want. You should also have a clear understanding on the type of DJ personality they desire, whether it is a fun and interactive DJ, or a lower key elegant style.

When you are finished planning, review the timeline and special details and MAKE sure that they understand how you will make this event happen for them. Ask them how they feel about the plan. Thank them again for their time. Tell them WHEN you will deliver a copy of their planner draft to them and how you will do that(email, fax, Snail mail)

If this venue location is a place you have NEVER played, you should offer to go with the customer to that location and review your placement and any difficulties not previously discussed. At a minimum, go see it yourself so that you know how long the drive is, what sort of load in you can expect, and also to introduce yourself to the venue personnel. BRING YOUR BUSINESS CARDS, and DRESS professionally! (This is a cool way to get them to MARKET YOU)

Follow Up

You should create a file for each client’s event. It should have all of their information for the event. Use a cover sheet to document any communications the client has with you prior to the event. Example: If you have called the client three times to remind them about their final payment due – you need to document this, especially when messages are left on tape machines. If you have made an exception to your policy on arriving early to set up due to the ceremony taking place at the same location, write this down so you don’t forget! You get the point. This helps prevent any misunderstandings or ill will from the client. The point: documenting so you remember what the customer wants, AND to cover yourself in the event the client questions you is PART of providing good customer service.

With weddings, once you have completed a comprehensive itinerary of the event, offer to fax or email the itinerary back to the bride. This demonstrates that you have everything under control, and that you understand what the bride wants from you. It also gives the bride the opportunity to let you know if there are any discrepancies – BEFORE the wedding day. Give them time to review it, and follow up. Get your planner faxed or delivered to the other event professionals if it is warranted. Let your customers know that this is completed. If you cannot get all of the planning done in one session, then you need to assign “homework”, where they get back to you with details and music decisions (if not already made). If your clients miss their deadlines, CALL THEM! It is their deadline, yes, BUT IT IS YOUR SHOW! Nail everything down IN ADVANCE of the date. Gently remind them that to make the show come of the right way, you need to have the information. Show that you care. Write down any outstanding items and document when you get them resolved.

Show Day:

(Bill)On the day of the event, depending on the location, get there early. I hate it when guests arrive and I am still setting up. The first impression you make on the guests as they see you should be dressed suitably for the type of event, and ready to play, not providing them a view of you sweating up a storm and cursing a light stand. Greet your guests, and ask them how the wedding went (if a reception), otherwise ask them how they are doing, and tell them who you are. This form of “salesmanship” can establish you as a consummate professional, a person who is totally unafraid of the guests, and breaks that ice barrier first.

Make sure that you have your planner for your event and that you inform your guests as soon as possible over your PA exactly what the event schedule entails and when. This is where having your sound up and using good speech techniques comes into play as well. This gets your guests involved right away.

At the end of your show, avoid tearing down while the music is still playing, or before the guests have been informed that the event is over. Mingle with them, and thank them for coming, shake some hands, and if you get a hug, great! This unhurried approach CAN result in getting thise calls the next day for future shows.

It’s not just a job, it’s an adventure!

Conclusion:

Pretty intense isn’t it? The main thing to remember is it’s all about detail and follow up and communication. By using these suggestions, it is our hope that you can raise your own bar through providing good customer service. We hope that the advice was useful and specific. Our goals in communicating this were to give DJ’s who are looking to improve their customer service skills some food for thought and methods for implementing it. Good luck!

Customer Service: As It Relates To Salesmanship

Preface:
We hear a lot about customer service. We experience it each day in both our personal AND professional lives. Just as we attempt to provide the best service for OUR clients, others provide service to us. Those other’s businesses depend on our perception of whether we were well served, or treated badly. Our perception of the service provided to us will govern whether or not we go back to that particular service provider, or avoid them like a plague. In the same way, a potential client’s perception of YOUR service will govern whether or not that client hires you. The specific aspect of how you sell your services becomes the crucial factor in “getting the gig”.In the new millenium, I believe that the successful business owner must take complete accountability and responsibility for developing, creating, and enhancing his/her salesmanship and customer service skill sets in order to competitively market and survive in business. We only need to see the business landscape around us to understand why this aspect is important in big business. It is even more crucial in a business like ours. Our service is viewed by each individual customer’s perception. What did they receive, and how were they treated. Word of Mouth advertising is both a DJ’s best friend and worst enemy if a less than stellar treatment of a customer was delivered.

This installment of DJU discusses some of the basics and some advanced techniques, and some philosophy as well. This isn’t the definitive way to handle clients, but it is the way I approach it, and I hope that it provides you the reader some ideas for consideration and food for thought.

I believe that a well thought out Sales approach should represent these qualities:

- Courteous, considerate, and well mannered. – Timely, consistent, and accurate. – Elegant AND humble – Confident and friendly – Knowledgeable and innovative – And most of all…for your client…FUN!

BASICS: Block and Tackling

What customers want from us is the same thing that WE want from businesses.

I will try to summarize them briefly using this statement.

“A customer wants the best possible service and value obtainable at a level that he or she is willing to pay for”

So whether or not you charge $500.00 for an event or $5000.00 for an event, each customer will be looking for certain levels of quality and service that has been promised and that they expect based on your dialogue with that customer. In other words, do what you say you will. Deliver what you promise, and if you make a promise, KEEP IT!

Let’s start with a customer’s first impression of you. The majority of customers in most cases will be contacting you either via Email or by telephone. Some will have seen you at an event, and have decided to contact you. It is rare for a customer to contact you in person as an opening or prelude to getting hired, but it can happen. The very first part of the sales approach happens on the initial contact. How you handle yourself on that first initial contact can often times be the deciding factor in getting an appointment and subsequent bookings.

If you are contacted via phone, your voicemail (if you are not able to answer the call personally) should clearly indicate that they HAVE reached a professional service, identify yourself clearly, and quickly direct you to a voice mail. Avoid music on your answering service that is loud, obnoxious or overpowers your voice recording.

If you use your home line as your primary business phone and do not use a dedicated business line, it would be advisable to have a telephone that has caller ID on it. Instruct your children and spouse to answer as if it were a business if they do not recognize the name on the caller ID. Nothing discourages a higher end client faster than to have a child answer the phone, or to have domestic situations occurring while you try to conduct business.

If you get fancy with your phone service and have a hold feature, using a voiceover and some music to advertise to the client who calls is a huge aid in establishing your credibility as a professional.

Others actually use an answering service and get their calls professionally answered.

If you man your office and take all of the calls, you should clearly identify yourself on the phone as the DJ. An example:

“Good afternoon, This is Bill Smith’s Magic of Music Mobile DJ Entertainment, Bill speaking. How can I help you?

However you decide to do this, keep it short, sweet, and to the point. After they inevitably ask you about your price and availability, perhaps the very first things I recommend doing is to get them talking about their event right away. Everyone wants to talk about themselves. …use this to your advantage by asking short question.

Congratulations on your date. How long have you both known each other?

How did you and your fiancée (what did you say his name was?) meet?

What sort of music do you envision at your reception?

While we are on that subject, when are you getting married? I have my booking schedule right here, so I can tell you if I am available or if I will need to refer you to a qualified networking partner.

Where is your reception being held? (if you know the place, say so, and if you know the people mention their names)

And So on. Write down the answers in some sort of notation so that you can refer to it when you DO meet.

Make sure to mention that you are available (if that’s the case), and offer to meet. If they need a price, give it to them, after explaining in bulleted type of format what you do for that fee. Explain the VALUE.

Confirm your meeting time, place and date. Get directions, repeat those. Make sure that before you hang up, you tell your client something along these lines.

Thanks for agreeing to meet me. I am looking forward to meeting you and (fiancee name here) and Please feel free to have anyone along that you wish present.

WHAT IF YOU ARE NOT AVAILABLE? This is the most overlooked part of the sales aspect, and the place where you can MAKE the greatest impact on the customer. If you are NOT available, you should try your best to refer them to a qualified DJ in your area. Also, ask them if they have procured the services of other wedding professionals, such as a photographer, video specialist, Cakes, etc. I always make sure that my would-be clients KNOW that even if they haven’t been able to get me, I still care about their event’s success. Occasionally, the clients book all of the professionals that I recommend, and I get that feedback in the form of telephone calls from these folks thanking me for the referrals. Customers remember that level of service, AND you also have a good feeling about having served your customer to the best of your ability, even if you did not get their show. Simply put, give the customer outstanding service when you are NOT available for their show. That is word of mouth advertising you cannot possibly buy!

EMAIL and the Bride With the advent of the DJ web site, many DJ’s get their leads right over the Net. There are so many variations to this theme. But if your web site employs some sort of availability checker, it’s usually designed to EMAIL you to let you know that someone wants you for their date. Using Email has become much more prevalent than say two or three years ago. How you email people back can directly affect how the customer perceives you. It is ALWAYS more preferable to talk to the client on the phone and get to know them. However, many clients do not provide you a valid number to call or provide no number at all, so you are left only with an Email address in some cases and a date.

I break these emails into separate and distinct strategies based on the amount of information that is provided.

First, there is the person who leaves as little information as possible. Their Email may be wrong, and there is absolutely nothing in the availability checker document you received. They may not have even left their name for you to personalize the response. Test the script out first before you do anything else, and validate that your web site works correctly.

Secondly, construct your email. Whether or not the client gives you all of the information or not, you need to treat them all politely and get as much information as possible.

Here is an excerpt from a client response I sent which led to a 1700.00 booking. Again, this isn’t the “right” way, but is my way. Again, construct it to fit your personality and business. I’m older and more formal, and I tend to be more formal in my writing. I design my service to always appear elegant and well mannered…I think the Southern Term is “courtly”. I write and try to speak the same way.

Hello (names here) and congratulations on your engagement!

I am available for your date. The first step for me is to meet with you and your fiancee to discuss your entertainment needs. I’ll be glad to come out to your home, a place of your choosing, or my office. You can bring anyone you like and ask any questions you wish. Could I ask for you to call me at 481 4290? I’d like to get more detail about your event and also see if you need other referral services for other vendors. We can then arrange for a mutually convenient time to meet so that I can present my entertainment service to you.

Looking forward to hearing from you

Sincerely

Bill Smith Magic of Music

There are then people that completely FILL OUT the availability form. I think that this deserves an immediate personal response by telephone. The client has demonstrated to you that they are very serious about booking, and generally in my experience, when they fill out all the contact information, if you don’t completely screw up the meeting, you can book them with very little resistance.

When you have made contact by phone, again identify yourself clearly, and after they have acknowledged you, congratulate them again and be sincere. Start to find out what they are looking for and get location and time and other detail for you to accurately make a price quote in your meeting. Tell them a little bit about yourself, and ask them for a meeting. Every client is going to handle the phone portion differently. You will react differently to each client based on how they speak. Try to be friendly and respectful and engaging. Before you hang up, tell them thank you for the opportunity to meet, and reconfirm your place, date AND time.

Follow up your call with an EMAIL, but make it much more personal, since you have made voice contact.

Dear (name)

It was a pleasure to speak with you today. I am excited about meeting you and (name of fiancee) and parents. Just to reconfirm, I’ll meet you at your home at 7:30 on April 2. I have your address and the directions you gave me. As I mentioned on the phone, this should take about an hour, and again, please feel free to ask any questions you want and have anyone present you wish.

I’ll see you then.

Congratulations again. I look forward to meeting everyone.

Bill Smith Magic of Music

Not all clients will call back or write back. Many of them are simply looking for the price, and when they don’t get that answer, they just don’t bother writing or calling back. Don’t try to push to get an answer from these people if they do not respond either by phone or email within a week.

I do not understand why people do not call or write back, especially when they have contacted you first. But I consider this lack of response to be rude, ill mannered and the equivalent of ignoring you while speaking face to face. This is again my Southern upbringing coming out. Those people have just lost out on a great DJ…YOU!

THE MEETING: IMAGE IS EVERYTHING: The tennis great Andre Agassi once said that “image is everything” in a camera commercial. That was before he lost his hair. Over the years as he grew older, he changed his public perception to fit the “man of the people” persona, and his entire way of presenting himself changed. Gone are the fancy head bandanas, bright garish clothing, and even the attitude is now more humble and self-effacing. Gone is the swagger of his youth. His dress is more conservative and his way of addressing the public follows suit.

Your image when a client first lays eyes on you is equally important. If you are meeting at an expensive restaurant, your image needs to convey how you feel about this meeting. Dress up! Don’t show up wearing jeans, sneakers or t-shirts. The more well groomed you are directly affects how a client perceives you as a professional. If you are meeting a corporate client, it should be with a sport coat and tie or a suit and tie. You have an opportunity to forever change the way your client perceives DJ’s by following these simple suggestions.

Your brochures:

Spend a little money on folders to contain your materials in. They can be elaborate or plain, but make sure that they are neat and contain everything you want to show a client. Make sure you have a business card (or several) as well. Indicate to your client that all of the materials you bring are theirs to keep.

Your dress code: There is nothing worse than being under dressed at a public place in a meeting. You feel naked.

Conversely, RESIST the urge to dress down if meeting at a client home. It’s OK for the client to pad around in bare feet and curlers, jeans or shorts. You STILL need to come off professionally. For a home meeting, a neatly pressed shirt and pant along with dress shoes will make you feel comfortable but not overdressed. I do not think that a coat and tie are required, but that is up to you.

Make sure that you have brushed your teeth well, use a breath mint just before you go inside, and I’d even go one step further and make sure that you don’t gorge down a big meal full of garlic the day before or the day of your meeting. (I recently met a client who had eaten some major garlic, and it was revolting, even 4 feet away. I did book the show, but it was all I could do to keep from gagging)

When I get inside, I always compliment something…the cats, the dog, the kids, or the way the place looks. FIND something to compliment. Break the ice. Often, they will ask you for something to drink. I always get ice water. This gives me a chance to set up my Laptop PC and get my materials together (neatly contained in a folder that they get to keep).

Your review:

Once we all sit down, I will conduct a brief review of what I do know about them, and correct any mistakes I may have made on my notes. I will then ask them to talk a while about what they want, and then go through my presentation. I always make sure that they know to interrupt for clarification or questions. Be sure to ask them if they have procured the services of other wedding professionals, such as a photographer, video specialist, Cakes, etc. I bring a wallet full of my favorite people for cakes, videos, and pictures with me and explain how I know them and what receptions they did with me. (network, network, network!!!)

Leave time for a question and answer session. If you are at the restaurant, if you can afford it, offer to pay for the meal. Once in a while I get taken up on the offer, other times, they pay for it because they know I have missed my meal with my family. You can deduct these meals as valid business expenses. Check with your accountant for further detail.

When you conclude a meeting, thank them for their time. And…this cannot be overlooked…Tell them that you WANT to work for them and that you hope they choose you.

Your follow up:

When you get home, immediately tap out an email thanking them again for the meeting.

When you BOOK the show, the customer has to notify you either by mail or over the phone. Thank them, and offer to send your contract using a SASE envelope or go out and meet them again.

PAY FOR THE STAMP! Make it as easy as you can for them to sign on the dotted line! When the contract arrives, CALL them and tell them that you have received it, and offer to set up a follow up meeting to plan the event.

This installment of DJU salesmanship and customer service was designed to acquaint you with

Part 2 of this series will deal with how you handle your customer AFTER they actually become a customer. I sincerely hope that all of you reading this may have picked up something that helps you out.

Yellow Page Advertising

This course is designed to give you some insights and information about effective use of the Yellow Pages. We will try to cover the pros and cons, strategies you can use, and also some tips that our fellow DJs in PRODJ-land have consented to share with us.DECIDING IF YOU NEED THE YELLOW PAGES:

If you are a busy single op or multi-op, and the yellow pages are NOT a part of your advertising budget, most likely you don’t need the Yellow Pages. Your other marketing strategies (Web, Newspaper, referral network, etc.) are already working for you. Unless you want more exposure and have plans to expand, this additional expense doesn’t make sense. If you are not that busy, and you want to attempt to expand, we will explore both the pros and cons in taking this very big step.

BUDGET:

Certainly, budget is the most important factor. After all, if it costs you more to place your ad than you bring in, then obviously it’s a bad investment. But, how will you know until you try? What can you do to at least get an idea that the yellow pages WILL WORK in your area? The answer is simple. Call other DJs that are listed in your area. Tell them that you are considering an advertisement, and want to know if the Yellow Pages work for them. Hopefully you can get an honest answer or at least some idea from them that the ads either do or don’t work.

You should also plan to call the Yellow Pages folks and ASK them how much the DJ ads you see cost to run. After all, if you are going to advertise, you need to know how much it’s going to cost you. They will want to hook you for as much as they can get out of you. After all, that is the job of their salespeople. They will try to dazzle you with stories about stand out colors, 1-inch blocks Vs 1/2-inch blocks, art work that they can use, and also try to sell you multiple listings in multiple books in the area. It’s very confusing and can quickly become very expensive. You must ask yourself several very important questions when deciding to advertise and devote a large amount of money to this venture.

RETURN ON INVESTMENT:

The following well-written information appears courtesy of Mike Domitrz of Universal Sounds DJs:

“A solid, high quality DJ company should be able to increase growth significantly each year through the combination of referrals (every event you DJ should help bring in one new event — thus, matching growth each year) and then increase it significantly through marketing (bridal shows, websites, mailings, etc.) If companies do find themselves with this type of referral growth, they need to evaluate their marketing and the quality of their DJs. When people love a service, they love bragging about it to others.

6 companies run ads that cost between $650 – $850 per month in our region. If you have a lot of referrals and your marketing materials are effective, how much availability do you have left that would make $850 a month worth paying for advertising in the Yellow Pages? If you bring in 5 shows a month (very high in some markets) via the Yellow Pages, that would be 60 events per year. However, it would have cost you $10,200 to obtain those 60 events ($170 per lead). Where else would you pay $170 per hot lead?

Many DJs simply look at the sale and forget the cost of obtaining the sale. You can maintain a website for an entire year for $300 while you pay $10,200 for a Yellow Page ad (more people everyday are going to the Internet for their shopping). Plus, many markets have numerous Yellow Page books…which one do you decide to advertise with?

The majority of Yellow Page shoppers are LOW PRICE shoppers — this is a documented statistic. Therefore, if you run a higher priced DJ service (we hope that all DJs are asking for what they are worth and not undervaluing their prices), the yellow pages are truly useless. People will call just looking for the lowest price — regardless of quality. I have spoke with many business owners who have utilized the yellow pages and they all agree on this aspect.”

Mike poses the following questions for DJs that are using the Yellow Pages for advertising. DJs that are ready to take the plunge should read this VERY carefully so that you can maximize your YP experience:

1. How many sales per month do you get from the yellow pages (exactly –they should be tracking)?

2. How much do you pay for your Yellow Page ad? (the average cost per getting a show).

3. What is the largest size ad and price of that ad that any DJ runs in the yellow pages near you? Who has the largest ad and how much would that cost you to run — plus, how many DJs run that size ad? This second question is important because if no other DJs advertise in the Yellow Pages, your market is very different than the DJ who has to advertise against 30 other DJ companies’ ads.

4. Ask the yourself how many events their firm DJs a year (then, you can figure out the % of how many of their total shows come from the Yellow Pages)?

5. Then, consider other ways to bring in that percentage of their sales.

6. Compare your prices and those of your competitors (effects the value of the Yellow Pages tremendously — if you are a bottom feeder, the Yellow Pages can be effective for you gaining shows — but you usually won’t have much profit).

OTHER THOUGHTS:

Our DJs at PRODJ were overwhelmingly positive on using the Yellow Pages. Some are advertising because they think they need to keep up with what their competitors are doing. Others are actually doing well with them, others didn’t. We have published all of these comments as a way of giving you real world advice and experience. The Yellow Pages seemed to work well for several DJs that were in remote areas or with little competition.

Patrick Smiley wrote to us explaining how the Yellow Pages worked for him. “My immediate market is essentially 2 towns with a combined population of about 20,000, 45 minutes from Calgary, AB. You may have heard of it – Banff, Alberta. Our local phone book is the same height but 2 inches narrower than a standard city size. Our ad costs are less than 25% of the cost in the city book. Therefore, I have a 1/2-page ad for $130 cdn per month. Because we are a destination market, brides coming here to spec out their day using 2 resources, the hotel vendor list and the Yellow Pages. We are well represented in both. As there are only 3 major local players and 1 is a discounter, YP is very effective”.

Scott Peck also weighed in. “I personally think the YPs are great. Like somebody else said, just book one event and you may pay for the entire year’s fee. I have a smallish text only box. I pay about $25 per month. Off the top of my head I think I made over $6000 last year on YP calls alone, Do the math, it’s worth it for me. Do I get “price shoppers”? Sure, but so what? I don’t have to take any gig that I don’t feel 100% good about. I understand that some areas may have to take a different approach, especially if there are pages of DJs listed. I think there are under 10 in my book so it’s a great form of advertising. Like everyone else I love referrals, but I’m not at a point where I can totally fill my calendar with just referrals so it’s Yellow Pages for me”!

Roy Rogers in Wilson, North Carolina indicated this: “I’m running a line ad only in the YPs. So far I have had 4 calls since Oct. 99. The ad cost me about $15 a month and is 1 of 3. County population is about 80,000. There are about 8 DJs in this town”.

STRATEGIES:

Eric Kennelly wrote as well and had a very good point about what the YP added to his business. “I have a 1 inch ad, 5 lines of text, circled, in bold. Only costs $20/mo. I have only had three events booked as a result of this ad since Nov. You may say it was a waste but not really. The first gig almost paid for the ad, then it’s free for the rest of the year. Most of my gigs come from referrals though. I will probably renew my ad next year but I will wait and see how many more hits I get from it. Maybe it’s not the best, but it is exposure none the less. Another point is that having a YP add makes your company seems more professional. You can even make a one liner on your fliers or business cards that says, “See My Ad In The Yellow Pages”. They may not look for it but it gives you an air of legitimacy and professionalism”.

Bob Dietrich also wrote to us about his experiences using a large ad vs. a small ad. “A single line ad here reaches aprox. 225,000 and runs $16 a month. With almost 90% of our business in referrals, I always question whether even that is needed. In response to your question, I believe someone starting out should consider no more than a single line ad with all the other startup costs.

When the client indicates they’re using the YP, I ask them if the size of the ad influences them and surprisingly enough, they usually indicate that they stay away from the big ads since they expect the service to recover that cost in higher service cost. After the new DJ has a year or two of experience, they should then evaluate whether a bigger ad will benefit them. I believe there are much better ways of marketing their services other than the yellow pages. Many years ago I tried a quarter page full color ad…MUCHO BUCKS!! ($650/mo.) And, while calls did increase slightly, bookings did not. Back to a single line ad”.

Dee Hanscom had a very interesting comment on her Yellow Pages Experience: “Well, I’m betting most of my chickens on one widely used local directory, with line listings in 2 other popular local phone books. I got the same size as the 2 biggest DJ ads in the directory, since I’m still building my business, I need to compete with them. The big one is like 2.5 x 2.5 inches. My header, biz name is big, bold, and striking, because that’s what I gave them. The rest is wimpy, and the clip art was atrocious! I had to scramble to find my own clip art when they sent me a proof to approve, so I’d meet THEIR last minute deadline. When you want to deal with the big dog, I guess you have to play it their way. So what all this means is from my experience, if you’re doing a nice display ad, not just a little 3-5 line ad, make it up yourself, ready to go, when you go in for your appt. with them. I thought their “artists” would know what they were doing, and the result was not like I expected. You should see the ugly art they tried to put in my ad! So, hopefully it will work out OK, but I did learn. ”

NOT SO GOOD:

Some of our DJs really hated the Yellow Pages, and others are not quite sure how it would help them.

Len Woelfel of Party Central wrote us and was very flat out about it: “We did YP for 2 years and found it to be a complete waste of money. IN fact, we got more calls the first year AFTER we pulled our ads than the 2 previous years when the ad was running”.

DON’T NEED IT:

Chris Wagner wrote to tell us about his perspective: “It’s been 3 years that I’ve been in business and haven’t once used the Yellow Pages. I’ve thought about it, but our web site is well making up for any hits that the phone book would have generated. There are too many Yellow Pages around here anyway. In order to reach my target audience I’d have to be listed in 4 or 5. Can’t afford that”!

WRAPUP:

Well, you very well may be totally confused by now. It isn’t an easy decision. There are a lot of factors to weigh, and a lot of uncertainties. The most important of these is certainly cost. Bottom line: you must decide how much to spend in relation to how much you make and hope to make. As Mike points out, you must track this once you start to measure its effectiveness, otherwise you are throwing your money away at worst, and at best, have no idea whether it is working. Starting out modestly with a one liner and tracking it is a great way to start and is the most inexpensive approach. Check out your competition. See how it’s working for them. Check out how much their ads cost.

Another important factor to take into consideration is your location. If you are in a location that is densely populated, the YP ad may be more beneficial. However, if you are in an area where there are SO MANY other DJs listed, it may not be worth while. The number of DJs listed in the book can make or break the productivity of YP advertising. Your area may not have many DJs, but it may also have a low total population. In that case, you don’t want to spend a lot of money on the ad – a small listing is fine.

In a large metropolitan area, there can be an abundance of DJ listings, and the ads in those markets are a lot more expensive. Therefore, the effectiveness of Yellow Page advertising varies greatly from market to market. How well it is working in the market you are considering is something that you MUST find out from a fellow DJ before you take the plunge. Choosing the number of books to cover suburban areas as well as the big central city in your area is also a strategy to consider. Other points of interest include providing your own artwork if using a block ad. Some DJs list their Web page address in the Yellow pages, combining the accessibility of the Yellow pages with the Internet. And speaking of the Internet, you can advertise in the Yellow Pages on the net. Do not overlook that when speaking with your YP rep.

As we pointed out at the beginning, if you are already a busy single or multi-op, most likely the YP won’t really help you out very much if you are NOT interested in getting busier. If you are an up-and-coming DJ, the Yellow Pages MAY help you. But do the work and the math first. Research it very carefully, and see if it makes economic sense to you. Probably one final point to consider is that it is probably in your best interest to have at LEAST a simple one-line listing. If you have a business phone line, you get that for free anyway. Sometimes people know “that DJ from XYZ DJ Service was great!” However, they need an easy way to find you. Maybe they didn’t get your card. Maybe they saw you a couple years ago. They remember your name, they remember your performance, where do you think they’ll look first to try to find you? It’s not always price shoppers that turn to the Yellow Pages.

Good Luck in your Yellow Pages experience.

Karaoke: Higher Level

This installment of Karaoke DJU involves some advanced uses for Karaoke OUTSIDE of the club environment, where everything is fairly well ordered. We are going to discuss some events and techniques for Karaoke use that you might not have come across yet. We are going to cover Weddings, use of Karaoke at School dances, and special audiences like Senior citizen homes and Autistic audiences. I have been fortunate enough to have successfully performed at all of these functions, and want to share those thoughts, insights, and experiences with you. We all have different ways of doing things for these functions, and no one way is the only way. If you have approaches that work that I do not cover in here, Email them to me at Bsmith5356@aol.com, and I will edit and add them into this article and give you credit for coming up with the idea. Here we go:WEDDINGS:

I know what you are thinking. How TACKY! It can BE tacky, IF you let it, and don’t handle it tastefully. More and more, Brides are asking for Karaoke to a part of their wedding receptions. It is up to YOU, the DJ/KJ, to ensure that it is used in a thoughtful and entertaining manner that still brings dignity to the event. Like all things, judge your crowd, and base your decisions on that.

The Ceremony and the First Dance:

I wanted to share a technique that I successfully use when I have been asked to sing in the ceremony or sing the First Dance song at the reception. Often, couples ask me to sing for them when we plan the reception. But having the big blue Karaoke TV out there at this point of the ceremony or reception is definitely not the way to go. It detracts attention from the B&G and focuses attention on you. So how do we solve the problem of remembering the words, controlling the music, keeping the flow going from song to song, AND SING? Remember, as a single op, I am often by MYSELF. There are no assistants, no help.

The 50.00 solution

As I was browsing through a store one day, I saw by chance a 5 inch Black and White TV for 49.99. And it hit me like a TON of BRICKS! Run an extra video RCA out of my Pioneer Player into the Video RCA jack of the B&W 5 inch TV which would sit on top of my compressor on my table top system! I could read the TV for reference, control the levels, and sing, and virtually NO ONE would see that they were Karaoke tracks! Remember, almost NO ONE expects a DJ to be able to sing. The addition of “Live Vocals” adds a panache and flair to the ceremony and reception that is hard to beat.

You now have the capability to sing the song, stay completely out of the way of the video and photo people, do the emceeing bit at the reception, CONTROL the FLOW, AND have your next song ready to play just as soon as you finish singing! And as a bit of marketing strategy, I call my Karaoke tracks “Vocal Performance tracks” designed especially for vocalists to use. I do not use the K word until later in the evening, if asked about the source of my music.

Later during the reception:

The second technique is during the latter part of the reception when everyone is more relaxed; all the formalities are OVER! Ready to party! Photo ops of the bride and groom doing a duet are priceless. It CAN be done tastefully if you minimize the amount of time it’s done.

I ALWAYS insist with the bride and groom that if they want Karaoke, THEY MUST LEAD the charge! We don’t want soused up Uncle Leonard up there first. So I coach the couple on a duet (if they need it), or on nice songs to dedicate to each other, and then gently introduce the concept of singing Karaoke to the rest of the audience. I then tell them pick a song from my book, write it down on a slip, bring it to me and we will get them up as soon as possible. Then I sing a couple of slow dance ballads and invite the audience to dance while I sing, and collect requests while doing that.

The real key is to LIMIT the number of songs done at a time. Do no more than say 3 at a time, and then jump right back into a dance set. That will keep the reception from turning into a regular Karaoke show. The pace of Karaoke is slower, and after about three songs, people are itching to dance again. After your last Karaoke song set get your next dance song ready and while the applause is still going on, hit them with a very popular dance song, like the Slide or the Macarena or the Cotton Eyed Joe. You don’t have to say a thing; they will come out and dance. Don’t worry about satisfying each request to sing, but look at the requests and try to get each individual up to sing at least once, time permitting. Most times, the max you get are may 5~10 requests. It’s easy to use 2~3 of those as a set then swing back into dance. Occasionally, you will get a gig where EVERYONE wants to get into the act. That’s when you have to manage expectations.

“Wow, ladies and gents, we have a TON of requests. We will do our level best to have you sing at least one time, with our time together here permitting. And thank you for wanting to entertain (insert B&G here) on their special day”

Almost by default, Karaoke puts you in the Interactive mode. You are already interacting with the audience, and they are listening to what you have to say. It’s very easy to swing out of a Karaoke set right into a skit like the Hokey Pokey, a Conga line, the YMCA, etc. etc. etc. (insert your skit here) These are very natural progressions if you think about it.

With respect to Karaoke at weddings, remember that it’s not about what we think is always right, it’s what the customer wants! I believe that these two ideas can maximize your performances at receptions when Karaoke is involved by request of the bride and groom or if you, as a Karaoke host are asked to perform vocals at either the Ceremony or the reception.

KARAOKE PARTIES AND AUTISTIC ADULTS/CHILDREN:

When I first got a call from the Wake County Society of Autism to do a Karaoke party, I was very apprehensive. I expressed my doubts, based on my perceptions of what I knew about autism. I decided to do some research and learn as much as I could about Autism, and worked with my customer’s staff very closely to learn even more, so I could be effective. I was worried about the “clients” as they were called by the staff being able to read and keep up with the pace of the Karaoke songs.

I learned several things I want to pass along when you do a show for such an occasion.

Autism is often compensated for in nature by enhancing the other senses, most notably, hearing. I was advised Pre show to watch the volume very closely. Strong sound or light can adversely stimulate Autistic children and adults and in occasional instances cause seizures. I left the lights at home, and worked very hard with the sound to keep it low.
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The staff told me not to expect a lot from this audience in terms of participation. Some of the clients had severe Autism and would be unable to participate. In Mossome instances, these people would make random sounds and would appear as severely handicapped and wheelchair bound. This can be an unsettling sight if you haven’t experienced it. A few the adults or kids will rock rhythmically or repeat words or phrases over and over, especially when you start playing music. You need to deal with that and internalize any apprehensive or unsettled feelings you might have. Now this isn’t a general characterization of all Autistic boys and girls. Many of the ones I worked with I could not really tell any differences between an autistic person and a “normal” person. And the level of behavior exhibited was often much better than “normal audiences”. But this is as plain a statement as possible about what you can expect and I owe you that.
As it turned out, these clients were actually very well versed in music. Often Autism leaves the person with the ability to do intricate math, remember music by rote, and keep perfect pitch no matter what is playing. I had several folks come up and find a selection (I totally dispensed with request sheets, and let them bring me the books to select their song) AND THEY ROCKED! After that first singer, they all wanted to use the microphone. That’s when you have the staff near by to ensure that everyone gets a turn and helps to supervise the flow. Often a family member or staff member would come up to assist the autistic person in their singing.

After a while, I broke out of Karaoke and did some dance sets, and did some skits with the YMCA and the Hokey Pokey, and also a humongous conga line. They all wanted to see my CDs, and I basically just turned off all my pre conceptions, and treated them just like any other crowd. They responded to me like any other crowd, and a good time was had by all.

The most important thing I learned was this: Autistic people like music and can generally respond just as well as “normal” people can. Treat them with respect and a smile like any other audience, and reap the rewards of doing a really good thing. Of all the Christmas parties I did this year, my time with the Wake County Society of Autism left me with the best feelings and accomplishments.

KARAOKE AND SENIOR CITIZEN HOMES:

In my area, we have several organized efforts to pay special attention to senior citizens with respect to DJing parties and offering up entertainment. I network with two KJs, and together we have come up with a format for doing senior citizen’s parties. I am going to share those with you. First, here are some technical aspects. You won’t have to bring a lot of sound. Often the shows take place in a cafeteria or meeting room. Pare down your set up to one good sized speaker and only what you absolutely need to run Karaoke. You must be very careful to run sound low, because these folks often have hearing aids that are turned all the way up. Avoid feedback at all possible costs. Those are particularly painful with hearing aids. The staff is generally very good about helping you set the level of music and sound. You also won’t be playing very long. I have never done more than an hour and a half in the past two years.

There are several very important aspects to successfully entertaining seniors. The MOST important aspect is to play and sing the music that they know. For the most part, that means learning to sing some of the older crooners like Ray Price, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Bing Crosby etc. For you lady singers out there, Ella Fitzgerald and Lena Horne and Judy Garland were some of the staple singers of that era. That also means purchasing Karaoke CDGs with these performers on them. Often, you can get specialty CDGs that have the big band singers from the 30s to the 50s on them. For example, Sweet Georgia Brown CDGs have a lot of these selections. Sound Choice has several “Great Male and Female Standards CDGs”. I sing from one of these CDGs non-stop for an hour. Start out your show with a couple of instrumental hits out of your DJ library like In the Mood, Take the A Train, etc. Introduce yourself over these songs, and get your singing shoes on.

Another very important aspect is to understand that some of these folks haven’t (sadly) had much attention from their relatives, and are often starved for affection. Once I had a sweet old lady hang onto my arm for the entire hour I sang. Get right out there with them, and sing to them. LOSE YOUR INHIBITIONS! As an example, I like to kneel right in front of the ladies and sing “For the Good Times”. I have gotten comfortable enough to lay my head on their shoulders and sing right to them. It is very helpful if the Home has a big screen TV that you can hook into, so you can help lead the audiences in a singalong. Remind them of the days of Mitch Miller and the bouncing ball in TV, and explain that when the words change color, that’s the cue to sing.

It isn’t necessary to have music running non-stop for the hour either. After I sing a song, if I am by myself, I like to talk about the next song while I am programming it, so as long as you are filling the time with something, it works out OK. Pace yourself and don’t be in a rush. If you have a routine for telling jokes, tell a couple of jokes. THE Home you play at will often determine the level of participation. I play one place where everyone is bed ridden and is wheeled in. You won’t get a lot of reaction, and some of the seniors will fall asleep (take that as a positive, your singing is so good that people relaxed enough to fall asleep to it!) I play another place where the residents read through the Karaoke books and want to sign up and sing! It is a real sight to see several 70-somethings crowding around the TV screen and singing. Their friends really give them the applause.

I often times will select very good Karaoke singers that I know from the local clubs to come along with me to do a show if they are available. This breaks up the “sameness” of having one person doing all the entertaining, and gives your seniors the chance to see more smiling faces. This also gives you a break as well to concentrate on the sound, and spin a real tight show. Most times, these shows are done on weeknights after the dinner hour. I don’t charge a huge amount (75.00) because I think it’s important to give back to the community. My fellow DJs in this area feel the same way, and we often go out to the same seniors facility and work with each other at the SAME show in a non club environment, share fellowship and have fun.

Senior Karaoke is very rewarding, whether or not they actually sing. The chance for these folks to be entertained is simply a good thing to do if your schedule permits it. You can use your Karaoke collection and entertain in a way you never thought possible. This is a type of event where you end up being the focal point of the show, but they like it that way! This type of entertaining will sharpen and hone your overall entertainment skills. You will leave with a feeling of satisfaction of having touched these lives that club work will never give you. You need to be very patient and run your show at a slower pace so that you are clearly understood and appreciated.

SCHOOL DANCE KARAOKE:

School dances are perhaps THE most challenging form of Karaoke there is. The kids are energetic, they swarm you like bees, they are all talking at once, and they all want to see your CDs. And, they all want to sing at the SAME time. If you are by yourself, this is like trying to take a drink of water from a fully opened fire hydrant. So the first thing I want to share with you is this: Don’t do school dances by yourself. Either bring an assistant or arrange in advance with the school to have either a student help you out with the requests, or assign a staff member or chaperone to help you out.

PROBLEM AREAS:

Language:

The biggest problems with School dance Karaoke are the song selections. They will invariably pick the tunes of today with overt sexual and explicit lyrics. Even though the Karaoke CDGs have these words blanked out, the kids feel like they have to sing them. I like to warn the kids ahead of time.

“Now everyone, we know what this song says, please do NOT repeat these words, or I will have to turn the song off”.

I did this at one school function where the kid actually said the F word. I stopped the song and told the audience EXACTLY why I stopped it. I told the kid why, and even though he argued that this was what was in the song, I told him that if he didn’t have enough smarts not to say the F word in front of adults let alone over a PA system, he didn’t need to be singing. Next!

Moshing:

The kids will also pick trigger songs to Mosh to. This happens more at College parties, but I have seen it happen at a 6th to 8th grade dance I did! The kids got in a circle and started crashing into each other. Again, you can only do so much. Warn the staff ahead of time that this is possible, and to be out on the dance floor to control this. It’s impossible to say what they will do and not do and to which song it might happen with. Every crowd is different. I do try to limit this, and so if I get a request for Limp Bizkit or Korn or Kid Rock, I tell the kids to pick another song.

Crowding of the Karaoke area:

The other very difficult thing is that everyone will crowd the singer and watch the TV lyrics. So what ends up happening is that you have a huge crowd, they are wrestling the microphone, banging it, and screaming into it. As a side note, I wouldn’t do a school dance with Karaoke WITHOUT a compressor. If the school has a big screen TV on a cart (from the A/V room), hook a second line from your player to this TV. This will often diffuse the crowd around the TV stand and Mics. One of the things I like to do is set up my TV stand about 3 ft in front of the stage area and the Big screen TV about 10 ft away from that. Often, you won’t get as many kids crowding around the TV stand.

CONTROL APPROACHES:

So what can you do to try to control an audience of 80 to 200 exuberant kids in hormone and sensory overload? How much dance are you going to do? How much Karaoke is going to be done? It will be more chaotic than even a club will. Listed below are possible approaches.

MINIMIZE THE NUMBER OF SINGERS:

Buy a huge roll of numbered tickets. Have the staff GIVE those out as the kids enter the dance area. Introduce yourself, and Explain to them that you will be drawing for people to sing. You can draw three tickets at a time to do sets, announce them, have ONLY them come up to select songs from your lists, and continue dance sets. Then once you are ready, you can bring your singers up with wedding style “grand introductions”.

Another approach is to simply try to instruct the kids that only the person who selected the song can sing it, and there is to be no crowding of the stage area. This is less effective because the attention span when kids are in party mode is ZERO. Most times, they don’t listen. This is when your chances of having equipment damaged are the greatest. This is when you definitely want to get the staff involved, and let them be the heavy in controlling.

What about the distribution of songbooks and sign up? I am a big fan of the slip system, so I like to have a table out away from my booth area with the songbooks, loads of blank slips and pencils. Let them crowd each other, then bring you the slips, then you can arrange them and screen them for completeness. This is much easier on you, as they won’t be pushing and crowding the DJ booth.

Now what I have described so far may make you think, “why in the world am I going to do this IF there are so many negatives?”

The fact is that if you can maintain some semblance of order, you can feed off their energy and give it back to them in the form of interactivity skits and dance music as well as Karaoke. Unless it is an ALL Karaoke party, you won’t be doing Karaoke exclusively, so you again have the options of doing skits and dance music. Not all of the kids will want to do Karaoke, but they will want to be close by to check it out. The kids are more curious than anything else. Very few of them are obnoxious on purpose, but you need to be friendly and firm if you have problems. Be patient, explain it to them, and move on. Above all, work closely with the staff during the show; maybe arrange some discreet visual signals to involve them if you see things getting out of hand. Good luck at your dance!

CONCLUSIONS:

Karaoke is not only a club thing. It can be done at various other types of events with a high degree of success. This will enhance your reputation as an overall entertainer. The more things you know how to do, the more well rounded you are. We have covered possible approaches to use Karaoke creatively in Weddings, Senior Homes, with autistic adults and children, and school dances. As you book these types of events and have these encounters, feel free to email me at bsmith5356@aol.com to share your experiences. If you would like to add your success and approaches that worked but were not listed in this edition of KARAOKE 301, just say so and we will do it.

Interactive Approaches for Karaoke

This installment of Karaoke is going to deal with some ideas that you can use to spice up your shows, and these are good for ANY age group, demographic makeup, or group size. First off, many of the things that a DJ would use in a normal non-Karaoke show will work at a Karaoke show. Although the focus is different, and the primary goal is to get people up to sing, they still want to party and have a good time. There are several keys to successfully executing interactivity at Karaoke shows, and we will cover them here.
Karaoke vs. Dance: 

 

When I did clubs, I was always torn between pleasing my audience and the night club owner. The owner wanted more dance music, and the Karaoke singers wanted more Karaoke. This was a classic catch 22, because the owner never realized that the ONLY reason patrons were there WAS to sing!! However, his motivation was to get more alcohol sales AND do Karaoke. Of course, none of us have ever run into that problem have we? The way I solved that problem was to schedule 4 or 5 very intense dance sets interspersed through at least one or two full rotations of Karaoke singers. The way I used to lead this in was after my last singer at the bottom of my rotation was done was simply to slam on the Electric Slide, and follow on with some fast dance music (at least 120bpm on up) for my first set. The 2nd set I slammed on the Macarena, and followed on the same way. Use the most popular dance tunes to pack your floor, then make them sweat. They got thirsty, crowded the bar, and ordered more drinks, everyone was happy. Here’s a tip to pass on to your club owners. Ask them to put out free Tortilla Chips and salsa. Keep it going all night long, and as the night progresses, people will order more drinks, increasing the sales. Do those intense dance sets, and the combination of dry Tortilla chips and fast dance music WILL produce more sales.

Karaoke Games:

I like to use several approaches:

Scary Karaoke:

One is what I call Skaraoke, in which you announce that you have a tune loaded up, and the first singer that can answer your trivia question and bring you the right answer written on a napkin gets to sing the song. You announce that these tunes do NOT count against a singer’s regular rotation position. So if Johnny is signed up to sing a song right after these tunes, and he wins the trivia contest, he will sing twice in a space of 5-10 minutes. Of course, you load up a really silly song that is either hard to do, like “Beat It”, or load up a very well known song that someone can vamp to such as “Like a Virgin”…. Do two or three of these in a row, get the singers up, then go back to the regular rotation.

Wrong gender duets:

This is exactly like it sounds. Get the club to put up (or buy yourself) a six pack of beer in an iced bucket. Announce to the crowd exactly what you want…which is two volunteers to sing an unidentified song that is the wrong gender. (I E two guys sing “Does He Love You”, or two girls sing a Righteous Brothers tune). Give them the big warm up announcement, play the tune, and let the fun begin. Occasionally, you will get two singers that will really nail a tune and they will get a huge ovation.

Novelty songs:

Announce to the audience that you need several guys and girls to sing Love Shack. This wonderfully tacky tune attracts the mid 30′s crowd like no other tune. Go to other shows in your area to pick up tunes that really seem to get the crowd going, and are group participation songs, and use these in your shows as novelty tunes.

Contests:

There are pros and cons to doing this. Unfortunately, you have some very serious Karaoke singers out there that think they should win every contest. There are still others who will load up the crowd so that even if they really can’t find the bucket, they still win with their tune due to audience acclamation (if that was how winners were determined). It gets worse the bigger the contest prize is. I am going to give you my personal insight on this topic. I know this very well from personal experience, because that is how I started as a singer. I won the Air Force’s Worldwide Entertainment award for vocal duet in 1982, beating out 3500 other individual duet teams from around the world. I had very high expectations of how I would fare in singing contests when I discovered Karaoke in 1994. Contests were a major way to attract people to bars back then.

I would go around to the clubs and enter contests and was lucky enough to have won a Bahamas Cruise, a trip to the Poconos, and several cash prizes as well. On other occasions, when I didn’t win, I would place 2nd or 3rd and was objective enough to know when I had not performed well, or simply bested by a better singer. In many instances, however, when the judging was by audience acclamation, or whenever the judges were well known locals, the best singers didn’t always win.

As a Karaoke Host, this can backfire on you, because then the singers don’t get a good impression of the Karaoke host’s show, nor do they want to revisit the venue where they ‘lost’. What really bites is that even though you didn’t participate in the judging, you still get held responsible for the outcome.

In those instances where I would travel to a location I had never been before, I expected as a singer to have a panel of judges that would be objective about the scoring. I also felt that if the judging was objective, and I sang my best, I would either win or come in 2nd or 3rd. What would often happen is that the judges were local, and knew the singers that they wanted to advance, and the “home team crowd” would raise the roof for their favorite. Here are other things to consider.

Pros -

Increased attendance
The opportunity to hold a contest on a night where you might normally not play (Money)
Promote your show
Increased exposure
Less of the “when do I get to sing” question from the audience
Much easier show to “run”
Cons

Figuring out the fairest way to judge the singers (picking a true winner)
Getting qualified judges who are impartial
Providing or arranging adequate prizes to attract participants
Dealing with disgruntled or angry performers who did not win
OTHER COOL STUFF:

Many of the DJ tricks you use for weddings and other events work well in Karaoke shows. Here are several:

Limbo contest
Conga line (watch your night club owner have a STROKE as you tell the line to LEAVE the restaurant or bar and go outside, then come back in)
Hokey Pokey – As corny as it sounds, this does work, although you will need to read the crowd first.
Pass the hula hoop
YMCA
And the list goes on. For a complete list of Games you could pick from, go check out DJU. We just added a whole bunch of new games.

IN CLOSING:

We have presented several topics here in “Intermediate Karaoke”. These topics were designed to give you food for thought and an honest forthright approach in helping you decide if you want to add on Karaoke, or spice up your existing Karaoke shows. Remember to do two things:

Never do the same thing week after week. Repetition is boring. Keep it lively, and do something different every week
When you sing, as the Karaoke host, give it everything you’ve got. If you can’t sing, or don’t want to sing, cultivate relationships with the “regulars”, and spotlight a different regular each week, and introduce them, and let them do the singing for you.
I hope that you found this article informative, stimulating, and provoking. IF you have any questions, email me at bsmith5356@aol.com

Happy Karaoking!!
Bill Smith

 

 

 

Karaoke Songbook Creation

The creation of Karaoke songbooks for your Karaoke show should do several things FOR you.They should neatly and logically be organized so that even really drunken people can understand how to pick a song from your list. Sort alphabetically by song, or Artist, or BOTH!
A secondary purpose of your books should be to ADVERTISE your business, and get people thinking how they can book you for a show that is not centered in a club.
The books should also be fairly durable and easy to maintain.
Your books should be designed so that they look attractive and get people interested in looking inside.
Let’s start with basic items.

DECIDE HOW MANY TO CREATE:

If you are doing a small to medium sized club, 20-25 books should be all that is needed to adequately supply your audience. I have rarely passed out all 20, and never had an occasion where more than 20 were needed. If you have a huge club, you may decide that 30~50 are more adequate.

WHAT TO BUY:

Binders:

Most everyone in the Raleigh area and the country use some sort of 3 ring binder. I choose binders that have a clear plastic sheath on both sides. Within these sheaths I have printed off portrait size sheets of paper that have my company logo, a phone number, and advertising information. This is like having an 8×11 business card on the front and back of each book. I also believe that if your books look really elegant and classy, they will be taken care of better. I have only had to replace 1 book in three years.

You can buy these binders at places like Office Depot, Office Max, or some other office supply store. If you opt for plain binders, no sheaths, you can buy them for less than a dollar a piece at places like Walmart or Kmart, or other department stores. I buy 1 1/2 inch white binders with sheaths for about 1.65~2.00.

Sheet protectors:

Why sheet protectors? Well, if your clients spill beer or food on the pages, they are ruined and so is the book. Sheet protectors go a long way in protecting your investments and reduce the maintenance effort you spend in keeping the books clean for each performance. Buy the thinnest protectors you can, so that inserting song list sheets inside them is an easy task. These too, are available at an office supply store. You can get them in boxes of 100 and 200, so to find out how many you need for 20 books, multiply the number of books you want to make by the number of pages in your song list (E.G> 20 books x 61 pages=1200 sheet protectors /number of protector sheets in a package)

Pencil and slip pouches:

If you use the slip system, you need to buy pencil pouches like you used to have when you went to grade school. Inside these pouches you should have several pencils or pens, and sign up slips. Buy these at a department store, as they are cheaper.

Sign up Slips:

You can create your own (I do) or get to a Karaoke company on the web that will do this for you. I have seen several that will do this for you, and also make up batches of personalized pencils for a reasonable price. I designed mine in Microsoft PowerPoint, and keep a master sheet, and run off a bunch on my copier. They have 12 sign up slips on a page, with space for name, song, song number, and key change information. Again, sign up slips are also a GREAT WAY to advertise your business, so at a minimum, have your company name and logo and a phone number on them.

You have now bought everything you need to START to create a songbook. The next step is deciding on a software package to use to create your song lists.

Song List Creation

There are many ways to create song lists. I will show you a few with which I am most familiar. If you are a busy single op or multi op, you may not have or want to spend a lot of time making a list that is extremely personalized or intricate. There is a program called Karaoke Spigot, created by Biff Mele, headquartered in Florida. Here is the URL for the Karaoke Spigot http://www.karaokespigot.com/. This program by far is the best I have seen at performing the function of making a song list when you are in a big hurry, or wish to spend minimal time doing this task.

This program assumes that you use a Microsoft Operating System. The Spigot uses Microsoft ACCESS to create a customized song list based on CDG discs that you have bought. You can select multiple discs, add them, and create a song list from the master database (which is very impressive and is updated regularly). All the songs are transferred to your list. You can make lists that are sorted by disc, by artist, and by song. About once every two months, new updates with the newest song titles are available from the web site. You can update your song lists, then print them off, and take the list to a printer to get multiple copies made. There are some limitations. Unless it has changed very recently, you cannot export the list to a different program, like Excel while inside the Spigot. You also cannot change font size or type, unless that too has recently changed. And many of the features normally found in ACCESS are not available with the Spigot program. However, it is functional to make a song list, and does that very well.

I personally use Microsoft Excel. I like the customized approach that Excel provides me in selecting font size (which affects the number of pages you have to reproduce) I have also seen other song lists created on Macintoshes and Apples using a spreadsheet functionality on those operating systems as well.

So now you have created your song list, printed it off, and it is ready to take it to a printer.

Now Put It All Together

Be sure to get the best deal possible. Shop around, get the best price. Specify front and back pages (two sided copies) which of course should cut cost in half. I advise that you have a couple of extra copies made, and the reason for that will be obvious later as you read on.

You need a lot of room in your home to put the song lists inside the sheet protectors and then into the books.

Here is the best and most logical way to accomplish this:

Determine the number of sheet protectors for each book. If your song list is 61 pages long front and back, you need 31 sheet protectors. Add a couple of spares to each book for expansion of your song list.
Starting with a complete song list, insert the sheets into the sheet protectors of each of your books. A common mistake is to put them in backwards, so remember ODD numbers show first.
Put the pencil pouches in the front of the books, and fill them up with pencils and slips.
If you did as I do, place your information sheet in the front and back of your clear sheathes on the books. This final touch ensures that people know who you are, what you do, and get people interested in your business.
I reserve a page in the front of each book before the song list that has a welcome paragraph. I also include a list of do’s and don’ts, and things that I want and expect from the audiences. This is another chance to portray your self even more personally. Print one of these off and place it in each book.
Maintenance

As hard as you try, your books will need attention. Food and drink will get spilled on them. Use Windex and paper towels to disinfect and clean your exterior covers. Keep them clean, for obvious reasons. When a binder gets raggedy or if it breaks, replace it. Your image is always on display in the public eye, so make it a neat and tidy one. If you find that a book is totally ruined, try to salvage the sheet protectors, replace the binder, and reload with one of your spare copies of your song list.

Other Tips:

How often do I replace my list each year as I update with more songs?

This depends on the program you are using. In Excel, I create a section in my books called 1999 updates. Instead of replacing all 61 pages, I replace 8 pages per book, and reduce my workload in a significant manner.

The Karaoke Spigot can do that as well, and has the option in the print menu to create an “updates to the main song list”.

I plan on reducing the number of times I redo the whole song list to once a year from the two that I am doing now. Just make sure you point out to the audiences that your book has two sections, 1999 updates, and your main song list.
2. How often should I review my books for damage?

Go through your books after every performance and well before your next one. Flip through the pages, and clean as needed. Always make sure that you have plenty of pencils and slips on your books. Attention to detail is a virtue in this particular aspect of the Karaoke business.

Conclusion:

This article covers some of the finer points of Karaoke songbook creation. It does not cover all of the ways this can be done. If you have an equally effective method for creating songbooks, or know of some smart software out there, we would like to know about them, and will feature them in follow up articles and also credit you properly with their “discovery”. I hope that you found some good information in here about creating songbooks and that you will have some ideas about how much a song book costs to make and what goes into them.

Karaoke Performance Basics

Introduction:So, you have bought the CDGs, the players, and all of the equipment you need to put on a show. You have even booked a show. It’s this Friday night. Now what? What do you do to actually pull off a successful show? This installment at DJU deals with what we shall call “basic performance techniques”. These are the things that you need to run a professional and successful show. We will deal in several areas, including setup, preshow preparation, show execution, and some general notes… Lets rock!!

Setup:

Setting up your show so that it suits the area that you are playing is the number one essential to making your show run smoothly. As an example, speaker placement and TV monitor placement are crucial to prevent feedback into your system from the singers’ microphones. Another example is if the club fails to clear out your area and customers are seated in the area where you are supposed to set up. You should make it clear that this needs to be accomplished at least an hour ahead of time. There is nothing worse than coming into your club, and there are 8 guys watching the sports TV and swilling loads of beer seated in the area where you are supposed to set up.

You need to visit your club before you do the show, and become familiar with the layout. Where are the electrical plugs? Do you have adequate room to load in? Will you require a table on which to set your CDGs and music? Is the area big enough to accommodate all of your gear? Answering all of these questions only ensures that you don’t get overly stressed on your big night. If your working conditions are not adequate, you need to work with the Club manager or person in charge to ensure that the area is big enough to work in. You need to be friendly, but assertive. Remember, this is your gig, and you know what conditions are needed to make the show run well.

I like to set my show up so that my back is to a wall. I find this to be an advantage when doing a show, because there are fewer distractions from multiple directions. Plus, if you set up very close to an electrical outlet, you can practically guarantee that you won’t lose power due to someone tripping over your power cord.

My mixing board and road cases are facing the audience, and my table is on one side of the road cases. My speakers are out in front facing the main room, and are set at least 20-25 ft. apart. You need to make sure that your singers and the TV monitor setup are not parallel with the main speakers, but are about 3-5 ft. in back of the speakers. This prevents that nasty feedback loop from occurring. Make sure you TAPE all cords down, for safety reasons as well as preserving your cords.

Pre Show Preparation:

Sound Check:

Now it is time to turn on everything, and run a sound check. The simplest way to sound out a room and understand the acoustics at work is to place your master volume halfway up. Slowly bring up each microphone channel first, and notice at which point you begin to get feedback. Make a mental note of this volume, and ensure that as the night progresses, you do not exceed this volume. Note also, that as the place fills up, you may need to nudge up the master volume a bit. Play a CDG in your player to make sure that the Karaoke TV works. Test your other players as well.

As you sound test, ask members of the audience how they like the levels. This gets them involved, and makes them feel like you care. Also, it gives you a chance to meet the people who are going to make your night work…your singers!! Remember that in Karaoke, sound is MUCH different than if you DJ. Singers need to hear the melody line, and as such, you need to take the bass levels way down, and increase your mid range and treble. The music needs to be clear and non-bass sounding. And the most important item of all: Your microphones need to be louder than your music levels. All music, whether live, taped, CDG, whatever, is a BACKGROUND for the singers. Never let your background override your featured singers.

Pass out the books:

About 15 minutes before you start up your show, you need to pass out the song books that you have worked so hard on creating. If you are using the Signup sheet system, place that out so that your singers can sign up. If you are using the slip system, then singers are ready to sign up by filling them out and giving them to you.

Announce that Karaoke is about to begin:

Now it is time to introduce yourself, and announce that the show is about to start. Advise everyone that the books are available for them to look at, and to please bring all requests to your booth.

Here’s an example:

Good evening everyone. My name is Bill Smith with the Magic of Music, and I want to welcome all of you to the Cary Tavern and Grill. Our show will be starting in about ten minutes. I have passed out the songbooks, which are arranged in alphabetical order by Artist. Simply fill out the request slips, bring them up to me, and we will crank it up very shortly. So that everyone gets their chance to shine in the spotlight, please bring up one request at a time, so that we get a rotation of singers going. Remember to also take good care of the people that are taking good care of you. I am looking forward to 4 great hours of fun times with you, so get those request slips ready, and lets rock this place!

Naturally, this depends on your own personality. No format is wrong. Use your own creativity to build on and create your own “schtick”. Everyone is unique. Use something that fits your personality and comfort level.

Arrange your songs:

As people start giving you slips, you need a quick way to access them. I use a wide plastic bread clip that you can get from any store. It is velcroed onto my road case where I can pick it up. As I get the singers requests, the first request goes on top in the clip. For the rest of the night, I work requests from top to bottom. New requests go in on the bottom, the next singer is selected from the top of the stack.

Show Execution:

Start the show:

I have never been to a show anywhere in the US where the Karaoke host did not start the show off singing if he/she was able to sing. This is the point of the show where you get people excited about being there. I like to start my shows with a theme, like the “2001: Space Odyssey”, or “Sirius Theme”, and fade right into my first song. I like to start off with high-energy songs, so I crank up songs like ” I Can See Clearly Now”, by Travelin Band, “Johnny B Goode”, or some other really uptempo song that stretches my abilities. You want people to see your talent showcased right off the bat!! Your first song (or two) should be “home runs’, where you are swinging for the fences. Of course, you need to tailor this for your area, and your tastes. A high energy opening however, is a great way to get your show on the right track.

Once you have finished singing, it is time to start getting other singers into the act. Fade over into some CD music you have set up on your other player, and talk over it as you introduce your first singer. This is where multi tasking is so important. You have to develop the skill of talking while you are programming your CDG player at the same time. Here is an example of something I might be saying, and DOING at the same time.

“Thank you so much for that warm welcome. That is how I want you to treat every singer up here tonight. We are all in this together, so lets support each other the best way we know how. Guess what time it is now?? It’s time for YOU to entertain ME. Its time for our very first singer tonight.” Give it up for Jonny D. Jonny is going to sing a great song for us, takin us back to 1986 with “On the Road Again”…here’s Jonny! Hey Jonny, pick either microphone, they both work just fine.

(During this intro, you have selected your CDG, programmed it, watched Jonny come up to get his microphone, waited until he stopped tapping it, then turned his sound on, pushed play, then used your cross over to fade in the Karaoke selection)

This is a skill that you must develop. Work on this at home, and mentally time it. Unless the singer is really drunk or totally deaf, it takes about 20-40 seconds for a singer to come up to the stage area, pick up the microphone, and get ready to sing.

(When Jonny finishes, be sure to say something positive about him, and recap what he sang. Fade over your music CD so that you have music going…)

“Hey, that was Jonny, and he says he can’t wait to get back on the road again…give him a big hand everyone. Nice job…all right…According to this, our next singer is the lovely and most talented Faith Evans. Faith has a great tune standing by for ya tonight. She’s gonna tell you about how “Love Can Build a Bridge”…Lets hear it for Faith

(During this intro, you have selected your CDG, programmed it, watched Faith come up to get her microphone, then turned her sound on, pushed play, then used your cross over to fade in the Karaoke selection to begin the play)

You repeat this process over and over as the night goes along.

NOTES:

DANCE SETS:

Depending on your crowd, you may get a lot of singers, or you may get a lot of people that want to drink and dance. You should have already spoken with your club owner to understand exactly how they want things to progress. You must balance the needs of the person paying you versus the needs of your singers. A dance set does several things for you and your night club owner:

YOU get a short break. Go out there while the dance set is going, and work the crowd and your singers. Keep business cards on you. You never know.
The dance sets give your singers and the rest of the audience a chance to do something besides sit and wait for another singer.
The nightclub benefits because people will buy more food and drink to supplement the exercise they are getting on the dance floor.
Planning Dance sets:

I like to plan a dance set at least twice during the night, and run no more than 10-15 minutes. If you have a lot of Karaoke singers, you can plan this to happen just before your first singer of the night is scheduled to do his or her second song. If it is a slow singing night, plan to do this after the second rotation of singing is completed. Pick up the tempo with some fast music. Most of the girls will do the Electric Slide, and if you’re in the South, a follow on that really cranks is REDNEX’s version of the Cottoneyed Joe. Do the Macarena as a follow on, and maybe Whoomp There It Is. That is a pretty fast sweaty dance set that should give the bartender a stroke.

Notify your singers:

Always let your singers know who is coming up in the next 3~5 songs. This speeds things up a little. Here’s one way to do this: (Again, you are multi tasking)

“Man, y’all are lookin good out there. OK, listen up, here’s the next 5 singers….We got Jonny coming up for his 3rd song, then we have Faith, followed by the lovely Miss Stephanie, then Boomer, and the Spike Brothers. Jonny, let’s roll with it brother, come on up and nail this one to the floor. Here’s Jonny!! He’s gonna “Roll With It, Baby”

Interactivity:

This is a tough call. There are some singers who want the entire spotlight, and are offended if you get others involved rather than just providing the platform for him/her to perform in. An example would be where you try to get the audience to clap more, or use props on the side, or otherwise make yourself more visible. This behavior is most likely more apropos at a private function. Karaoke in clubs has evolved for some singers into a deadly serious pursuit. You would not believe how many singers count the people in between their next time to sing, and are in your face if their count doesn’t conclude with you calling on them. Use your instincts to determine if a singer will appreciate you helping out the song, or if you should just be the “potted plant” for a few minutes.

Crash and Burn:

What happens when one of your singers gets halfway through the song, turns around and tells you, turn it off, this sucks, and I am not going to do it.

There are several ways to work it. First fade the song, and cross over to get some music playing. I like to get the singer over to the booth, and ask them if they want to try another song right then, or wait. Its 50 – 50. Here’s how I handle it BOTH ways:

“Jonny, I am so sorry. How about trying another song. No?…Ok, well then please bring me up another one. Everybody, give him a big hand anyway. Sometimes you just run into those things”

Or

Hey Jonny, Sorry that didn’t work out. Do you have another one to try? Ok, what’s the number, I will put it right in…While I am doing that everybody give him a hand. It takes a lot of courage to get right back in the saddle after that happens.

Here Jonny with “Angel Eyes”

Conclusion:

I tend to like the hands off approach in a nightclub. But that is because I am an older guy, and my approach is more conservative. I also realize that there are lots of ways to get interactive that will suit your style and ways of doing things as well as your personality that re not conservative by my standards. That is OK too, because its YOUR show. You have to run it the best way you know how. The performance basics presented here are designed to give you fuel for thought and action. There are certain basics that you will do over and over again for each show, and most of those are presented here. A good way to see what other people are doing is to visit other shows in your area. Look at what works and doesn’t work, and imagine yourself doing those things, or NOT!!!

Good luck out there. Happy Karaoking!

Introduction to Karaoke

So, you want be a Karaoke DJ? Well, before you can do that, it is helpful to have a place to start. If you are already an established DJ, adding Karaoke is not a great stretch, because you already have many of the components needed, such as your public address system and organizational skills won over the years from experience and advice from others. Lets talk about the personal aspects and expense, and equipment.
PROS and CONS: The personal sideFirst, are you suited to doing Karaoke shows? What does it take?

You still need to have the same skills of “emceeing” needed to keep a show rolling. You still have to talk, and in fact, talk more. The pace of Karaoke is MUCH slower than a regular DJ gig at a club. You need to be able to be a facilitator, and relegate yourself to not always being the center of attention, for as I say at all my shows ” it’s not about me singing, it’s all about you singing”. If you cant, accept the fact that you are not going to be the center of the universe, you will most likely not be happy doing Karaoke.

It is very helpful if you can sing.

Knowing how to carry a tune also allows you to help other singers out if they falter or ask you for help.

You also need to be patient.

No matter what happens, you can’t lose your temper. It is bad business. Know that you will not always have control over the pace of the show despite your best efforts. Singers who have had too much will not get up to the stage in a meaningfully rapid fashion.

Equipment selection:

KJ’s also uses many of the same components you use to DJ. For example, you still need to buy public address speakers, a quality Amplifier, a mixing board, microphones, road cases etc. The uniqueness of Karaoke, however, demands that you select components that are designed for Karaoke. Those include the following (NOTE: I bought all new – you may be able to swing much lower prices going usedJ )

A CD+G player: Different than a CD player, these players also process graphics for the songs on the CDG discs that you will have to buy. A good player will run you between 300.00 on up.
A 13 or 19 inch color TV to display the graphics for the songs. This allows the prospective singers to see the words to the songs. Cost is $150.00 on up, and you will need a TV stand to set the TV in. That can also cost you between 100~200 dollars.
A RF modulator to take the video output of the CDG player and converts it into a signal that a TV can interpret. Cost is about $40.oo~$50.00
Mixing board – Although we mentioned this before, if you are going to do primarily Karaoke, the average 2-3 input mixing board would be inadequate to handle multiple microphones. You should get a mixing board that does both CD’s AND CDG. A crossover is also very useful. Cost – between $300.00~$600.00
CDG discs – These are the discs that have the songs on them that your singers will sing. They are much more expensive than regular CDs, and not as available in retail outlets. This is most likely the most expensive and recurrent cost that you will bear if you decide to do Karaoke. The average Karaoke CDG runs $20.00 for 15 songs. If you buy new, and decide to start out with a library of 1000 songs, that is 66 CDGs at a cost of $1200.00. Then you must keep up with the changing musical tastes of your audience.
CDGs can range in price from $37.00 a disc (Sound Choice) all the way down to $9.00 (All hits Karaoke special). Not all CDGs are made equally either. You need to research the Web and get evaluations of CDG musical arrangements so you can choose a library “that sounds just like the radio”. That is what singers are trying to recreate.

Equipment philosophy:

Rather than tell you what you should buy, I am going to provide some philosophical guidelines for you to use when selecting equipment. Where I think the best equipment is used, I will say so.

Buy for Versatility. Could you do just regular DJing from the equipment you buy?
Whether you DJ or KJ, is your sound system going to be big enough to cover the typical areas in which you may be asked to play?
Buy quality within your means to do so. Cheap is rarely best for your long-term interest in either DJing or KJing.
Buy equipment that suits both your physical abilities to move it around and set it up on a regular basis.
There are tons of people out there selling both used and new Karaoke equipment. SHOP smart, and compare. Try to always see your equipment rather than just surfing the net and mail ordering. Although this is an easy way to shop, the reality of size and weight cannot be seen on a 15-inch monitor. Look, touch, feel, lift, THEN do the Internet ordering. If you can hook up with a local dealer, that is much better than over the phone or over the Internet.
CDGs – This is the heart of your Karaoke system. These are the CDGs that you will have to buy to provide your singers something to perform from. Years ago, when I started, there were two choices for good CDG Karaoke. There was DK and Sound Choice. There are now literally hundreds of brands out there. The new fashion statement in Karaoke is the emergence of a collection of CDGs that have the most popular Karaoke songs (as researched by the companies). The most complete libraries include the DK Encore series, the Sound Choice Foundation + Bricks, Music Maestro, and loads of others. I recommend the purchase of a BASE library that gives you at least 500~1000 songs to start. A great way to supplement your library is to buy CDGs that have the Top Hits for both Country and Pop on a monthly basis.
Mixing board – If you are doing primarily Karaoke, invest in a mixing board that will switch both audio and graphics, and has at least 4~6 microphone inputs. This allows you to accommodate large groups of singers. I use the Vocopro KJ6200. It is designed to be used primarily for Karaoke, but can be used to do DJ work as well, utilizing a crossover. A board like the 6200 is advisable if Karaoke is your main gig source.
CDG Player – As far as I am concerned, Pioneer is the best brand for CDG players. The dual tray with the pitch controller and vocal eliminator is by far the best-priced player and performs night in and out. You can buy one for under $400.00 and I recommend a backup (go used for this).
Songbooks: By far the most boring and also VITAL aspect of your Karaoke biz is your song books. There are software packages out there that allow you to create a songbook online, then print it offline. Others use a Microsoft product, such as Excel or Access to enter their songs. You will constantly be updating your song books with new music, and getting reproduction companies to print off your new song lists. Then you have to buy 1-2 inch binders and sheet protectors and stuff your books. Your book is also a great advertisement billboard. In each songbook, I have a pouch with sign up slips, pens, and business cards. I also print a “logo sheet” that goes in the plastic protector of each of the books front exterior.
CONCLUSIONS and WRAPUP:

So, where do you buy this stuff? A good way to discover the world of Karaoke is to ask existing KJs in your area who they go to for equipment and CDGs. You should pick a person who has a good rep. Ask the KJs several questions about availability of hardware, service after the sale, availability of Karaoke CDGs, and how much cost shipping and handling plays in your total purchase price.

Finally, are you getting a lot of requests for Karaoke as either an Add on for your DJ service, or outright offers to do a show ? As you can see, you will spend a lot of money just to get started. Can you recoup this cost in a reasonable time frame (say a year) to justify it?

We have talked a lot about Karaoke start up costs and personal aspects of being a KJ. It is not cheap, but can be very rewarding and a lucrative add on to your existing business. You need to be friendly, accessible, and understand that you will not be the center of the universe at the show. Patience is a virtue, and is a must when doing Karaoke. Lots of luck to you if you decide to ad this into your services.

If you do Karaoke at a club, you will run into a lot of stuff, like the drunk who gets right in your face and demands to sing now, even though he is way down on the list. Some people who sign up invariably will give you a wrong number and Patsy Cline’s Crazy comes up on the screen instead of Great Whites ‘ Once bitten, Twice Shy”. You have to stop the whole show, ask the singer what they really wanted, and then find that disk. You may also run into owners who want you to play lots of dance music (like a DJ?) and then all your Karaoke people get mad at you, because Karaoke is not happening. You also must wait for the singers to come up to get their microphone. They will bang it, scream into it, drop it, and occasionally throw it. I NEVER let a singer hang out to dry without either standing behind them and singing off microphone so they catch the tune, or ask for volunteers from the audience. This practice is especially effective at a private gig where kids are involved. By doing this, you let everyone who is watching that you care about the quality of your show and that you also care about making the singers experience the best that it can be. The ability to help someone on the spot enhances your reputation as a caring committed and professional KJ. It is not a requirement, but I have found (and I have traveled all over the US from North Carolina to California, and many places in between) that the best shows are the ones where the host is an above average singer. Many Karaoke singers are much more serious than say 8-10 years ago. They want to go to shows that have a talented host who can also attract listeners as well as singers. Not everyone comes to a show to sing. They come to listen as well. I cannot count the number of times I got a booking because I sang a song to open my show and impressed someone in the audience. Being a good singer also enforces the perception that you are a professional KJ.